Thursday, January 24, 2013

The Advocate



I was going to initially use this as a response to Laura's post, but then realized I was getting off track and ranting, so I decided to create my own post (once I figured out how) ha!
 
I think it is important to remember, that although we have grown up in a society that raises masculine qualities above feminine qualities, and although we have been raised within a structure of male dominance, we are the agents of change-both men and women. Unlike, Rousseau, who believed that these qualities of men and women, thought of as separate, and non-attainable by the opposite sex, are natural occurrences, and therefore can not be changed; I believe that they are practices, beliefs, essentially folk tales. These ideas of masculine superiority, however much engrained in our society they are, can be changed. Although the process is a slow and difficult struggle, it is nonetheless, a changing of societal norms. A change that I would argue is for the betterment of humanity.

Equality of all people (not only women) is an ideal, however, it is an ideal that we should strive for. MacKinnon provides us with a corner stone of the house that inequality built, that of sexuality, specifically heterosexuality. Her assertions about the repression of women's sexuality, through the dominant force of male sexuality leads to the arguments that Rich makes in her article about compulsory heterosexuality. These notions together offer a depressing reality, a reality in which we all live, yet have the power to change.

Perhaps, I'm just an optimist/idealist in regards to human equality, but the fact is, we are seeking change already. Why else would we be concerned or interested in a class titled "Philosophy of Woman"? To merely discuss the classical ideas of men who believed women to be lesser beings?(I certainly hope that is not the case). Given that we are investing our time, and our money into any course involving the study of gender, speaks to the agency we all posses- the agency to change our world and our society. 

Now, that I have finished my soapbox, I want to share something I wrote in response to some of our class discussions concerning sexuality and separatism... Sorry if it comes off a bit radical, but as we have seen sometimes radicalism is just an extreme way of expressing a not so extreme idea. With out further ado:

Which one of you is the guy, they asked. 
How do two women have sex anyway, they say.
To their dismay, I replied with a heavy sigh, shook my head, and walked away.

But thinking twice about what just had passed,
I turned back to challenge them, to try and change the world that I live in.

Their faces lit up with amusement when they saw me walking back,
"Which one of you is the woman?" I asked.
Both looked confused and thrown off track.
"Nah, Nah, we ain't gay" they both exclaimed.
"Nah, nah, that shit is whack."
"Two dudes together? Nah that ain't right,
but two ladies, that's fine. Yeah man, that shit is tight."

I let them finish, then asked again,
"which one of you is the woman?"
"No reply? Not a fan of being called to question
whether or not you're in a position of subordinance.
Do you understand that I'm a person who doesn't need
to be a man in order to define who I am. 

I am a person do you understand?
Or are you just a man that relies upon the lies of society?
Man, Woman, Bisexuals, Transgenders, and Queers,
Lesbians and Gays, We're all the same.
The only difference is you were born to power.

How's that make you feel?
Do you feel entitled to question if my personhood is real?
Because I'm a woman? Because I love women, 
do feel threatened by my blatant contradiction
to your male defined m.o.?
Does my separatism scare you?
Are you afraid you'll lose control?

Which one of us is the man, you asked,
Neither- We are the people, profoundly saying No."

 

2 comments:

  1. I really, really liked this poem and thought that it had a great message! I never understood why people always want to know "who's the man and who's the woman" in homosexual relationships! I have never wondered that, honestly. I'm not how I have somehow avoided thinking that way, but I never have. It's so odd to me how our society works. We always want to know "male or female" "gay or straight" "dominate or submissive." I had to fill out a form the other day & it wanted me to check "male or female" and I thought "What if I don't feel like defining myself today?!" I strongly identify with being female/feminine, but what if I didn't that day?

    We are always looking at others and judging them, always trying to figure out if they are gay or straight in some cases. I engage in this myself sometimes, even though I know that I shouldn't because really, it doesn't matter what someone is! I have several friends who are gay & when I look at them I don't think "oh, there's so-and-so....he's gay" NO! I just think "there's my friend!" I wish all people were able to do that...to just forget about labels on people and just to just see someone as simply a person. Maybe then we would realize that we aren't all that different from each other.

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  2. Beautiful.

    I think it is important to have optimism! And you're right about change happening already-even within our small class. Our presence and interest is an indicator that we do in fact care.

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